Injuries in an elderly inner-city population.

Even though injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among the elderly in the United States, no comprehensive population-based study of nonfatal and fatal injuries has been carried out in an elderly minority inner-city population. To study injuries in this population, we developed an active surveillance system as part of a large injury prevention program in a poor urban black community. We report 577 cases of nonfatal and fatal injuries in a community of 12,139 persons 65 years of age and older that resulted in emergency room treatment or death between March 1, 1987, and February 29, 1988. Nearly 5% of the elderly population was treated at an emergency room for, or died as a result of, an injury during the study period; the overall injury rate was 48 injuries per 1,000 persons. Injury rates for older women exceeded those for older men and increased with advancing age in both sexes. Fall injuries accounted for 312 (54%) of all injuries and 75% of all hospitalizations for injury. Motor vehicle incidents and violence were the second and third most common injuries, accounting for 13% and 7% of injuries, respectively. Given the predominance of falls relative to other injuries, prevention of falls should receive major emphasis in injury prevention efforts in inner-city minority populations.